Comprehensive Curriculum

The Doctor of Professional Studies curriculum consists of 57 credits of advanced graduate course work beyond the MBA, 12 credits of which apply to the dissertation. The curriculum includes five distinct but highly interrelated areas of study. You should complete all course work, except dissertation, in the first three years of the program.

Four doctoral foundation seminars (12 credits) explore the broad conceptual foundations of business and management. The seminars promote intense class discussions that hone the intellectual and analytical capabilities of candidates. In the process, these seminars instill academic discipline and standards necessary for you to complete the program.

Four research methodology seminars (12 credits) develop research skills needed to conduct business research and complete a doctoral dissertation. In these courses, you learn to evaluate a broad range of business and academic research, to design research projects and use research techniques, and to analyze data using a variety of multivariate statistical techniques.

Each doctoral candidate completes five courses (15 credits) in a concentration. Each concentration consists of two doctoral concentration seminars and three advanced electives. You most likely select your previous MBA major as your doctoral concentration. Prior MBA course work, together with professional experience, forms a solid foundation for your concentration. The program director and a faculty advisor for each concentration help you select concentration electives that contribute to your academic and professional development.

You select one of the following three concentrations. Click on a concentration to view a description of the concentration seminars and titles of concentration elective courses available.

You register for four dissertation seminars (12 credits) while completing your dissertation. A committee, consisting of three full-time Pace faculty members and two individuals from outside Pace University, mentors your progress and approves your dissertation contents.

An important evaluation criterion for a dissertation is its potential, without additional library or field research, to provide the basis for two published articles. One article should be suitable for a refereed academic journal and the other appropriate for a respected professional publication.